


Simple Aspirations

by OwlosaurusRex



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Interracial Family, Lily !Lives, M/M, Single Dad AU, head canon Myra and Lily, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-04-08 01:49:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4286052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OwlosaurusRex/pseuds/OwlosaurusRex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Myra dies in a car accident leaving Sebastian to raise little Lily on his own. They are outrageously cute together and Joe is the best Godfather/Papa out there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm working off of Deltastic's head canon Myra and Lily found here: http://delborovic.tumblr.com/day/2015/03/11

The neighborhood was silent when Sebastian finally made his way back home. The freshly paved roads were lined with the same pattern of cookie-cutter houses and streetlamps, his own porch light a lone beacon in the distance. Work had run far later than expected, especially for a Friday night, and it was after midnight by the time he pulled into his driveway and dragged himself into the house.

It was a single family home in the same off white hue as its neighbors and while it wasn't particularly big, it was more room than they needed. It would have been a perfect house to grow into, that's why he and Myra bought it all those years ago. They'd had plans for kids, a full family to fill the place and their lives, but it wasn't meant to be.

The living room was dark when Sebastian walked in, discarding his shoes carelessly by the door and heading for the kitchen where a light was on and he could hear the tell-tale clatter of a keyboard. Lily's babysitter looked up expectantly when he entered the room and dropped his keys on the counter.

"Welcome home Mr. Castellanos." She was a young woman, not yet thirty, who was petite and soft spoken. Sebastian had been a little nervous about leaving his daughter with her during the days he worked, but Joseph had been the one to find her and assured him that she was highly qualified. Stacy was her name, if he remembered correctly, but he was so tired he could hardly recall his _own_ name.

He flashed a small smile in response and looked around.

"Lily's in bed?"

"Oh yes, for a while now. She insisted on waiting until you came home but she didn't last long." Stacy smiled as she spoke and Sebastian had to marvel at how much she must love her job. Then again, it was difficult not to enjoy being around his little Lily.

Sebastian sighed and rubbed at his eyes wearily.

"Hey, I'm sorry for being so late again. I had to prepare for court next week and we had a problem with the computers this morning."

"Mr. Castellanos it's not a problem, really," Stacy insisted and rose from her place at the kitchen table. She closed her laptop and started gathering her things, leaving Sebastian to awkwardly watch and wonder how to handle the situation.

"Here, let me pay you for the overtime--"

"Oh no, I couldn't accept that." Stacy was quick to wave off the offer.

"You sure? It was nearly four hours overtime..." Sebastian felt a little uneasy when Stacy looked at him. She had this way of staring at him sometimes that just wasn't quite right. It was even worse when she smiled.

"It's fine, really. I wouldn't feel right taking payment because of something that was out of your control," she said and slung her bag over her shoulder before rounding the table. Aside from that look in her eye she had this habit of getting too close. It wasn't _outrageously_ close but just slightly too close for comfort, and Sebastian leaned back against the counter to try and widen the gap.

"Well, okay then," he relented and glanced towards the door to avoid looking at her. "Drive safe out there on your way home, it's getting foggy." Sebastian's sudden change of subject seemed to dampen the woman's spirits a little, though she assured him that she would be careful.

Stacy didn't linger for much longer after that and Sebastian was oddly relieved to lock the door behind her. She was too young to be as interested in him as she was and though it was nice on some level to be appreciated, he had no intentions of pursuing any relationships, _especially_ not one with the babysitter. The very idea made him grimace. He just had to remind himself that she was good with Lily and he could forgive her her apparent infatuation.

Thinking of Lily, Sebastian abandoned his bag in the kitchen and took the stairs two at a time, suddenly anxious to see his little girl. The upstairs was spacious with three bedrooms and a bathroom along one hallway, Lily's room being the last door at the end of the hall.

No matter how rough his day had been or how tired he might be, there was something about the purple and blue flowers adorning Lily's bedroom door that put him at ease. His daughter was the most important part of his life and gave him strength and purpose in even the darkest of times. They'd been through a lot in the two years since the car accident and Sebastian had was amazed at how strong his baby girl could be. It wasn't easy to lose a mother and with the added trauma of the accident, Sebastian had been afraid for his little girl. He didn't want her to grow up being afraid or lonely and while he couldn't bring Myra back, couldn't stop the accident from happening, he could try and make her future brighter. That's all he really cared about.

Inching the door open, Sebastian smiled at the mess of toys and clothes strewn about here and there in Lily's room. There was a purple night light in the corner that shone little stars on the ceiling and as he stepped inside he could see the big head of Lily's favorite stuffed animal poking out from beneath her covers. Sebastian had been a bit surprised when Lily started showing interest in dinosaurs but didn't have a problem with it. Even when she asked for the big T. Rex doll at the store he hadn't hesitated to think if it was a good idea or not. She loved that thing and its goofy over-stuffed teeth, and watching their tea parties was always amusing.

Sebastian stopped beside her bed and reached out to stroke the dark curls out of her face. She was his perfect little angel. He leaned down slowly to kiss her forehead, skimming the thick ridge of a scar near her hairline and murmuring a quiet goodnight.

He'd been so worried she wouldn't make it. There was so much blood and glass and smoke and Myra was...

Sebastian could feel his throat tighten at the thought of the wreck and kissed Lily again before quietly picking his way back out of the room. He knew it wouldn't do any good to think about it but once he started it was always difficult to stop. He remembered Myra's face in the window and felt tears burn in his eyes. During her funeral she looked so pale, her dark skin taking on an unnaturally gray hue, and Lily cried for days. It felt like time would never be quite merciful enough to lessen the pain and scrub those memories from his mind. And maybe he didn't want to forget.

The walk to his room was a reluctant one. Sometimes sitting in their bed only made it all hurt worse, but it was late and tomorrow was the 4th. He needed his sleep.

Sebastian was in the process of undressing when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He was going to ignore it until it buzzed a second time and he knew it was probably Joseph worrying again. Fishing his phone from his pocket, he felt a sense of momentary triumph when he saw Joseph’s name flash on his screen though it was quickly replaced with mild annoyance. He plopped down at the foot of his bed to scroll through his text messages.

**Joseph**

_Did you make it home alright?_

_You looked pretty worn out today. I’ll bring some tea tomorrow._

Sebastian huffed at Joseph’s concern but couldn’t help a small smile.

**Sebastian**

_Yes MOTHER, I know how to drive._

**Joseph**

_I know you do, but driving tired is worse than driving drunk, you know._

Sebastian went to toss his phone on the bed, not about to encourage Joseph’s fretting, but his partner seemed determined to continue the conversation.

**Joseph**

_Are you still going to the cookout tomorrow?_

**Sebastian**

_of course. oscar’s been buggin me about it all week so I have to. Lily’s excited._

**Joseph**

_Good. I picked up some sparklers for her at the store yesterday_

**Sebastian**

_she’ll love them. btw that babysitter you picked out was giving me the EYES again_

Sebastian took the pause between messages to strip out of his work clothes, tossing them carelessly in his hamper and digging in his dresser for an old shirt to wear. The vibration of his phone was muted by the comforter and it took him a few minutes to realize Joseph had responded.

**Joseph**

_Again?_

_I think you should talk to her about it._

**Sebastian**

_I dont want to encourage her by pointing it out. I dont understand why shed b interested in a tired dad._

Sebastian got himself a glass of water and turned on his bedside lamp as he got into bed. A shower would have to wait till morning. Joseph’s next reply took nearly fifteen minutes which was, for Joseph anyway, a long time and Sebastian was about to give up on him and go to sleep until his screen lit up again.

“Jesus, do you know how late it is?” Sebastian grumbled to himself and swiped the screen of his phone, he frowned at Joseph’s response.

**Joseph**

_It’s not surprising. You’re attractive and plenty of people are attracted to older men._

_But that’s beside the point. You shouldn’t let her go on like this. It might cause problems._

Sebastian eyed the messages and snorted.

**Sebastian**

_I’m not old and I didn’t realize you were jealous of her Joe._

Unsurprisingly Joseph’s next messages came at lightning speed.

**Joseph**

_That’s not what I said_

_I just don’t want you to have an awkward situation on your hands. for your sake and for Lily’s._

_But that’s for you to decide. I’m going to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow._

**Sebastian**

_Why don’t you come over before the party? Lily wants to see you and i’m making pancakes._

_I’ll see you here at nine._

_Night Joseph._

  
Sebastian smirked to himself as he locked his phone and set it on his bedside table. The next couple of texts were ignored altogether and Sebastian sighed as he finally got to settle down for bed. Though he didn’t like it, Sebastian reached into the drawer of his nightstand and found the small bottle of sleeping pills, seeking comfort in his medication. It was difficult to imagine sleeping without the little white pills anymore, what with the nightmares, and when he finally turned out the light and laid back he felt peace of mind knowing he'd be able to sleep the night through. Hopefully...


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pancake time in the Castellanos house! Featuring Papa Joe and his late birthday presents. Huzzah!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was getting pretty long so I'm splitting it up into Breakfast time and Park time. The next chapter will be 4th of July celebrations at the park~  
> A lot of this chapter probably isn't altogether NECESSARY but it's cute af and fun to write so there you go  
> Also, I wasn't quite sure how to portray a second grader so if it seems a little off, forgive me.

The one downside to Sebastian's sleeping medication was the sheer struggle it was to get up in the morning. Though he was conscious of the patter of little feet in the hall and the creak of his bedroom door, he couldn’t bring himself to actually _wake up_. It wasn’t until he felt the bed move and his blankets tugged that he managed to pry his eyes open. The next few minutes were a bleary mess of confusion and dinosaur limbs as he blinked his eyes open to find himself face to face with Tami the T. Rex. Its toothy grin was perhaps the least frightening thing he had ever seen and it was made all the less concerning by the cloud of brown curls sticking up from behind it. Sebastian couldn’t help but smile. He could feel Lily nestling under the blankets and her little arms came up to wrap around her favorite dino as she supposedly settled in for more sleep.

Sebastian just watched her a moment with hooded, sleepy eyes and stifled a chuckle when he felt her start to fidget almost instantly. She was a sweetheart for trying to let her daddy sleep, but nothing could change the fact that she was an energetic second grader ready to start her Saturday. After letting her squirm and fiddle with the blankets for a while Sebastian figured he should probably get up. With a loud, overly dramatic yawn he stretched and let his arm flop over Lily and her dinosaur.

“Hmmm?” Sebastian snuffled against Tami and patted his hand over Lily’s belly with a curious sound. “Now what could this be…” he drawled, hearing Lily giggle and gasp when she realized her current plight. She was trapped and Sebastian was curling her closer.

“Daddy, it’s me!” Her little voice was shrill with the excited panic one feels when they realize they’re doomed to a very ticklish fate.

“Huh? What’s that?” Sebastian laughed as he started to tickle her and her squeals of laughter filled the room. “What? I can’t quite hear,” he said in his deep, playful dad voice. Sebastian continued to tickle her even as she tried to squirm away and pleaded for mercy.

“Noooo, Daddy! No, it’s meeee!”

“Who? Oh it’s _you_.” Sebastian finally relented, Tami having been tossed among the pillows in the struggle, leaving him hugging his daughter close while she giggled and fidgeted. “Well, why didn’t you say something sooner?” he huffed and smiled down at her.

“I _did_! You weren’t listening,” she insisted and wiggled around in his grasp until she could loop her arms up around his neck in a tight hug. “Good morning, Daddy.”

“Good morning, baby girl.” Sebastian sighed and held her close for a long while, rubbing her back and kissing her cheek. “You’re up pretty early, are you ready for some breakfast?”

Sebastian glanced over her head at his alarm clock on the nightstand and sighed when he saw the time. Eight was a little too early on a Saturday.

“I missed you yesterday. Stacy said I could stay up until you came home...but I fell asleep.” Lily leaned back to look at Sebastian and pouted a little. “So I wanted to get up early so we can have lots of fun today!” She started to wiggle again in excitement and Sebastian let her go so she could sit up and reclaim her dinosaur.

“Oh baby girl, I know. Daddy had to work late again, I’m sorry. But we’ll have plenty of fun today, I promise,” Sebastian said and grunted when he sat up, reaching out to poke her nose. “But first I think we should make some pancakes, what do you say?”

Lily’s face lit up and she bounced in place on the bed before scrambling to get off.

“Yes please! Can I have mine with chocolate chips?”

“Of course, baby.” Lily’s excitement was beautiful and contagious and it was hard for Sebastian to feel tired when met with such enthusiasm. “Alright, why don’t you head downstairs and I’ll be down in a minute, okay?” Sebastian slid his legs off the bed and stretched properly this time with a few pops and creaks that whispered of his age.

"Okay!" Lily was off the bed and scampering out the door in seconds, leaving Sebastian to call after her about running down the stairs. He could hear her feet pattering away and smiled to himself. While Sebastian wasn't really a morning person, mornings like these made losing a few hours of sleep worth it. If only he could borrow some of his daughter's energy.

Sebastian was slow to get up and even slower to make his way downstairs, making a pit stop in the bathroom first to splash water on his face and make sure he didn't look like hell after working a long week. He certainly needed a shave and a shower, and when he looked closer in the mirror he was appalled to find flecks of gray peeking through his dark hair. The men of the Castellanos family were blessed with thick hair well into their later years and his own father hadn't shown even the slightest hint of white the last time Sebastian saw him. That had been at his wedding, though, some eight years ago, and he wondered briefly what his old man was like now. But none of that really mattered, what mattered was that he wasn't even forty yet and he shouldn't be going gray. It wasn't enough to make him panic or even worry that much, but it was more of a nagging realization that he was, in fact, getting older.

The kitchen was warm when Sebastian finally made his way downstairs and he turned on the ceiling fan along with the lights. While he was upstairs mourning the loss of his youth, his daughter had dragged a chair up to the counter and was sitting on it patiently, kicking her legs. Lily was a ball of energy this morning in her polka dotted pjs and messy hair and Sebastian chuckled at her toothy grin as he passed.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, guess who's coming over this morning," Sebastian said as he took down a bowl and the ingredients they'd need. He had the wrinkled recipe on the fridge along with various drawings and family photos, and Lily was quick to snatch it down and climb back up on the chair so she could help. She sat Tami beside the mixing bowl as an extra pair of short, stubby hands.

Lily scrunched up her face as she thought, staring at her daddy curiously, and grinning widely again.

"Is it Papa Joe?!"

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner." Sebastian laughed at Lily's gasp of joy and reached out to pat her head and keep her from jumping around on the chair.

"I miss Papa Joe. He was supposed to come visit." Lily's smile quickly turned to a pout and Sebastian offered her a few chocolate chips to ease her frustrations.

"I know baby girl, but Papa Joe was busy. He's coming over today, though, and he'll go with us to the park so you can play with him all you want."

"I can play with you too?"

"Of course." Sebastian stopped what he was doing long enough to kiss Lily's forehead. "Today is all about you. You and fireworks." That won a giggle and Sebastian eyed the time as he started measuring out ingredients.

"Do you think you can measure the flour? We need one cup." Sebastian watched as Lily fished out the proper measuring cup and promptly started making a mess with the flour. He smiled at the little white puffs rising from the bag and set up the beater.

Making anything with Lily was always a treat because she tried so hard to be precise but always succeeded in leaving a mess in her wake. Sebastian helped her along as they mixed up the batter and nibbled on chocolate chips until there was a knock at the door. The speed with which Lily abandoned her station and bounded to the front door caught Sebastian off guard and left him calling across the house to his partner. Joseph hardly made it inside with Lily's hugging and thrilled chatter and Sebastian reach them just in time to see Joseph lift her up and give her a tight hug, flour and all.

"Hello, Princess," Joseph cooed and the smile he gave Lily was so warm and genuine that Sebastian was a little surprised. In any other situation it was difficult to get anything but worry or sass from his partner so to see such raw affection on his face threw Sebastian off a moment.

Lily continued to talk and giggle as Joseph kicked off his shoes and brought her back into the kitchen with Sebastian at his side.

"Lily's been waiting for you to visit, you know. She made you a birthday gift and everything," Sebastian said during a brief pause in his daughter's animated discussion. Joseph raised his brows at Sebastian and Lily's eyes widened.

"Ohhhh, Papa Joe, Papa Joe!" She wiggled until Joseph set her down on her feet and took his arm. "I made you a present! It's not your birthday anymore but I made you it." She gave him an insistent tug and Sebastian laid a hand on his partner's shoulder to spare him the trip to her room. He feared Joseph may never come back down at that point, given his poor habit of indulging Lily in nearly everything she asked.

"Why don't you go get it for him, honey? Papa Joe can stay down here with me and figure out what kind of pancakes he wants." Sebastian cast Joseph a glance and while the younger man still looked just as happy as before, there was some relief in the easing of his shoulders and the tone of his voice.

"I'll be right here when you come back," Joseph said and while Lily looked momentarily disappointed it didn't last long. Within moments she was scurrying up to her room, followed by Sebastian's reminder about running on the stairs.

Both men sighed in the quiet that followed and Sebastian gave his partner a once over. He was wearing a white polo and khakis, and when Sebastian noticed he was still wearing his gloves he frowned.

"You're going to wear those to the park?" Sebastian nodded at Joseph's hands and went back to work on the pancakes. He sprinkled in a healthy dose of chocolate chips for him and his daughter and leaned against the counter as he waited for them to cook.

Joseph looked down at himself and back up again in confusion. "I don't really wear shorts, Seb, so this is the best that I have--"

"No, no, not your pants, don't worry about those. You're one of the few people I know who can pull off wearing khakis without looking like an old man on his way to the golf course. I meant your gloves." Sebastian shook his head at his partner and crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn't necessarily surprised that Joseph was wearing his gloves, he always did, but he'd known him to take them off when it was wise or more convenient for him. Given the heat, Sebastian didn't like the idea of having sweaty hands in leather gloves and he doubted Joseph would find it comfortable, but his partner didn't look like he could be persuaded to take them off.

"I don't see why I would need to take them off," Joseph said and moved to the fridge to avoid looking at him. He was studying Lily's new drawings when Sebastian stepped up beside him and rested a hand between his shoulder blades in a supportive manner.

"Everything all right, Joseph?" Sebastian's question was quiet and hesitant and when Joseph frowned at him he backed off easily enough.

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

Sebastian shrugged and drifted back to the stove to flip the pancakes. "Just a little warm for gloves, is all. But I'm not going to bug you about it." He shrugged again and looked back when he heard Lily running upstairs. "Oh Jesus, would you go keep her from running down the stairs? She's going to fall one of these days..."

Sebastian frowned, looking as though he wanted to go himself but knew better than to burn his baby's pancakes. Joseph looked relieved for the change of subject and that warm smile reappeared as he stepped back towards the staircase, and Lily’s joyful squeals. She burst back into the kitchen with presents in hand and struggled to wiggle her way up onto a chair at the kitchen table. After a few moments, Joseph managed to scoop her up and set her in his lap to avoid any mishaps, and did his best to listen to her explanations. Sebastian leaned over the counter and shook his head.

"One thing at a time, Lily.” Sebastian laughed and pointed towards a small lump of blue wrapping paper sitting atop a larger wrapped box. “Show him which one is from you, baby girl, and give him his card."

Joseph looked from Sebastian down to Lily with a wide smile. "What? A card too?"

"Yes! I made it just for you, Papa Joe," Lily said and snatched up a large folded piece of construction paper. She made sure Joseph was looking when she opened it and went into great detail describing her masterpiece.

"Oh, Lily, this is very nice of you," Joseph cooed, leaning his head down to get a better look. The card had three shakily drawn figures in various colors though it was easy to determine which was Joseph given how big Lily drew his glasses.

"There's you and there's daddy, and there's me," Lily said, pointing out each of them in turn along with balloons and birthday decorations covered in splotches of glitter. "Do you like it?"

"I _love_ it, Lily," Joseph said and Sebastian knew that he meant it. Joseph kept every scrap of art or doodles or _anything_ that Lily gave him. It was pretty cute, though he wouldn't say so out loud.

"It's very pretty and I think I know the perfect place for it on my desk. That way I can see it every day." Joseph gave Lily a little hug before she offered him her small gift. "Hmmm, I wonder what this could be."

Lily turned on his lap to watch him and reach up to help him unwrap it when he didn't seem to be going fast enough.

"Oh...a bracelet, for me?" Joseph managed a smile as Lily took the bracelet from his hands and showed off the thick black beads, some of which were etched with letters that spelled out his name. Sebastian chuckled at Joseph's momentary reluctance and knew that his partner would end up wearing it no matter what he said or thought. He was just too soft when it came to Lily.

"Did you make this for me?"

"She sure did. She spelled out your name all by herself, too, didn't you?" Sebastian spoke up as he stacked a few pancakes on Lily's plate and started to cut them up for her.

"Yup! All by myself, and look, it's stretchy." Lily went on to chat Joseph's ear off and put the bracelet on for him to show off just how cool it was. In actuality it was bulky and hard to hide and probably not all that comfortable but Joseph assured her that he loved it.

"Alright, birthday boy, next present." Sebastian clapped his hands to get them moving and took more notice this time, smiling at Joseph's obvious surprise. He hadn't even gotten all the paper off the larger gift before he looked up at Sebastian with neatly contained excitement.

"A model airplane...a _Japanese_ model airplane. Seb, this is..." Joseph chuckled a little, letting the rest of the wrapping paper fall away while Lily looked at the pictures on the box. "Really thoughtful of you. What made you think to get me this?"

"Well, I wasn't quite sure what to get you but I figured you might appreciate that, you know? I know your heritage is important and you like those little precise projects, so it seemed like a perfect gift." Sebastian looked almost bashful under Joseph's appreciative smile and popped a few chocolate chips in his mouth to distract himself. "I'm glad you like it."

There was a brief moment of quiet where their eyes met and Sebastian chuckled awkwardly before Lily piped up again.

"Do you like airplanes Papa Joe? Does it fly?" Lily was running her hands over the box and looked like she wanted to open it but Sebastian stopped her with a gentle reminder that it wasn't hers to open.

"But I like airplanes, too..."

"That's good, Lily, and maybe Papa Joe will let you look at it later, but for now it's breakfast time." By the time Sebastian set Lily's plate on the table and plucked her off of Joseph's lap, it was obvious his partner could use a little break. Lily could be a bit much to handle, especially this early in the morning.

With Lily preoccupied with pancakes and a glass of milk, Sebastian returned to his station and started on another stack for Joseph.

"Hope you don't mind chocolate chips. I know you prefer blueberries but we don't have any right now."

"Chocolate chips will be fine, Seb, thank you." Sebastian glanced up in time to catch Joseph's grateful smile before his partner got up and stepped into the kitchen to make some coffee. These kinds of mornings were always a welcome surprise, and Sebastian enjoyed the cozy comfort that came with a family breakfast.

"So, did you sleep alright last night?" Joseph asked over the sound of the coffee maker and Sebastian shrugged.

"Well enough, though I don't have any refills left for those pills..."

"Why not just ask your therapist about it?"

Sebastian made a low, noncommittal sound and sprinkled more chocolate chips into the latest pancake. When Joseph didn't readily continue, Sebastian swore he could feel a lecture brewing.

"You're not seeing her anymore." It wasn't a question and Sebastian knew that Joseph was picking him apart as he was prone to doing. He was just too good at reading people and sometimes it would be nice if Joseph could just turn that skill off for a while.

"It's not a big deal, Joseph, so don't worry about it," Sebastian insisted and turned to face his partner.

"I thought those appointments were doing you some good, what happened?"

"We just had a little...falling out, I guess. I didn't like some of her views on my ‘treatment’, so I'm not going back." Sebastian shrugged. "I'll just have to find someone else I guess, if only for the medicine."

Joseph looked as though he might say something more on the matter but apparently thought better of it and went back to focusing on the coffee.

"It's really not a big deal. But you know what _is_ a big deal?" Sebastian stepped closer and ignored Joseph's confusion as he pointed at his hair. "Look at that. I've got fucking gray hairs already."

"Sebastian, language," Joseph hissed and Sebastian flashed a quick glance at his daughter who was giggling at the table.

"Right, yeah, but look at that." Sebastian ran his fingers through his hair and tugged at a few strands while Joseph merely stared.

"Well, those _are_ gray hairs..." He said and looked less than interested, as if it were common knowledge....

"You already noticed? Why didn't you say anything?" Sebastian groaned in frustration and glared at his partner though it lacked any real anger.

Joseph shrugged and went about pouring himself a cup of coffee once it had finished.

"It seems a bit rude to point out that kind of thing and it's not really relevant," Joseph said over his shoulder as he retrieved the creamer from the fridge. "Besides, it doesn't look bad. You know men _pay_ to get that kind of look. Salt and pepper or whatever."

"Yeah, but that's usually when they're already mostly gray," Sebastian insisted and added another pancake to Joseph's stack.

"Well, I think it looks fine. Don't you agree, Lily?" Both men looked out at Lily who was happily munching away. She offered a toothy grin in response and Joseph took that as agreement. He nodded at Sebastian as if the issue was settled and Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"But, since we're talking about your hair, I do think you could use a trim."

"A trim? It's not _that_ bad..."

"Yeah, if you don't mind a mullet," Joseph said and hid his smile in his mug when Sebastian settled him in an exasperated stare.

"Seems like you want a little extra salt in your pancakes, Joe. Luckily for you, we have _plenty_ of salt," Sebastian said and narrowed his eyes at him threateningly when Joseph laughed.

Lily seemed content in watching them as she ate and only spoke up when Sebastian hefted the thick canister of Morton Salt.

"Why would you want to eat salt pancakes? That sounds yucky."

"They would be yucky, baby. But Joseph loves to be a bit salty, don't you Joe?" Sebastian winked at his partner who couldn't help his laughter then. Lily looked between the two men in confusion before shoving a syrupy piece of pancake in her mouth.

"Is salt your favorite?" She mumbled and won a gentle reprimand about talking with her mouth full. Joseph stepped around the counter to set his coffee down on the table and shook his head.

"No, it's not my favorite, but I do like a little now and again. Your dad is just joking," he said and eyed the stack of pancakes Sebastian handed him before offering a gracious thank you.

"Hey, no problem. Oh, Joseph, do you think you could help Lily get around after breakfast? I would really like a shower. We don't have to leave until noonish so you guys can just watch cartoons or something."

"Of course I can. We'll have plenty of fun, won't we?" He smiled at Lily who suddenly remembered her best friend Tami and went on a lengthy rant about dinosaurs. When she mentioned having seen the new dinosaur movie Joseph glared at Sebastian in disapproval.

"Jurassic World wasn't bad at all, okay? And she really wanted to see it, so don't give me that look." Sebastian pointed his spatula at his partner then at his daughter. "And you, little missy, need to stop telling Papa Joe everything. You're going to get me in trouble!" Lily giggled mischievously and shared a conspiratorial smile with Joseph while Sebastian finished up his own pancakes and fixed himself a strong cup of coffee.

Lily had just about finished her breakfast by the time Sebastian started his and he made sure to put Tami within reach so Lily could play with her little buddy when she finished. He hadn't quite gotten the timing down for breakfast but they were all in the same room while they ate and that's what really mattered to him in the long run. Dousing his pancakes in syrup, Sebastian ignored Joseph's mumbling about his health and thought about their plans for the day. A nice outing with his little girl and his best friend sounded just about perfect. Having to also be around people he didn't know or otherwise didn't care for, on the other hand...well, he'd tough it out for Lily's sake. At least he knew Connelly would be decent company and he'd always have Joseph to keep him in check in the off chance that they _had_ to talk to someone unsavory. Sebastian just hoped he wouldn't have to rely on Joseph too much, but the party was a precinct gathering so there would be plenty of people there who didn't necessarily like him. Oh well.

"You ready for a fun 4th of July?" Sebastian asked when Lily finished her breakfast and slid off of her chair.

"Yes! With fireworks and Papa Joe and swings!"

The two men chuckled and watched Lily scamper into the living room to see what cartoons were on.

"So, this year seems a lot better than previous ones," Joseph said quietly and sipped at his coffee.

"Yeah. Lily's a tough girl and she's been doing a lot of growing, Joseph...a lot of growing..." Sebastian grew quiet as he thought of Myra and all that she was missing. He must have been staring at his pancakes for a while because Joseph gave him a gentle nudge to catch his attention.

"Hey, you're both tough and you both have certainly done some growing. I'm really glad to see you guys enjoying the holiday." Joseph smiled at him before getting to his feet and gathering his and Lily's dishes to bring to the sink.

Sebastian nudged at his pancakes thoughtfully and looked toward the living room where he could hear the opening theme of SpongeBob playing.

"Yeah, I'm glad too."


End file.
